Clipping Along

This project plan began to evolve when I wanted to replace my functional but ugly fridge magnet clips and couldn't find any decent non-tacky, non-cheesy fridge magnets for sale anywhere. Then I happened to see some DIY glass marble magnets tutorials on Pinterest, but while I thought they were very pretty I've never found that the kind of fridge magnet that's intended to be placed over, or partially over, an item has much holding power; I wanted good strong clip magnets. But then I realized there was a way to combine the strength of the clips with the attractiveness of the marble magnets, and got so fired up with enthusiasm for my idea that I purchased nine new magnet clips with the idea that I would make a set not only for me but also two additional sets for my mother and sister as stocking stuffers for Christmas 2019.

These were the original four clips I've been using on my fridge for years. The metal had gone dark and spotted over the years and needed sprucing up. After a failed attempt to paint them with some metallic craft paint, I painted them with some "hammered bronze" Tremclad I had on hand. I bought a bag of dollar store marbles and stuck four of them on a scrap of rose print wrapping paper with Modge Podge, and once it had dried, cut away the excess paper. Then I glued the marble onto the magnet clip with all-purpose white glue. This is the set for my mother. She's an avid gardener so floral images were a good choice for her.

This is my sister's set. I left her clips unpainted as I thought the existing metal tone went better with the images I used, which were cut from an old calendar. Her kitchen has some blue and yellow in it, though it's mostly white, so these clips should go well with her decor.

This is my set. I've been using them for over a week as of this writing, and they seem perfectly functional. I was afraid the marbles wouldn't stay put, but I've got ten months to test their staying power before I give away the other two sets, and so far they've remained securely in place. I could have left these clips unpainted since they were new, but after some internal debate I decided the bronze tone was a better fit with the images I'd chosen and with my kitchen. The images in the marbles are cut from an old Mucha calendar I had on hand. This set of clips will go well with my planned poppy-themed kitchen reno. Can't wait until the entirety of my ugly old kitchen is on par with these clips!